pkgdemon.github.io/index.html at main · pkgdemon/pkgdemon.github.io · GitHub

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<header>
  <h1>Joe Maloney</h1>
  <p>Open-source contributor &middot; <a href="https://github.com/pkgdemon">github.com/pkgdemon</a></p>
</header>

<h2>Blog</h2>
<ul class="guides">
  <li>
    <a href="the-50th-floor.html?v=20260514">The 50th Floor</a>
    <span class="desc">Porting launchd to FreeBSD &mdash; and why FreeNAS Corral is next. On the phases of a software life, AI as a paintbrush, vibe coding honestly, and the rabbit hole that led to a standalone Mach kernel module.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="how-a-computer-should-work.html?v=20260514">How a Computer Should Work</a>
    <span class="desc">The case for an offline-first appliance, simple enough for a mere mortal. A quiet boot, login without the internet, applications you actually own, upgrades that don't erase your disk, and a desktop that runs on refurbished hardware.</span>
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>Vibe Coding</h2>
<ul class="guides">
  <li>
    <a href="devuan-system7-workalike-plan.html?v=20260727">A System 7 Workalike on Devuan</a>
    <span class="desc">Feasibility study for a graphical-only Devuan ISO: <code>mlvwm</code> on XLibre, a System Folder over bind-mounted FHS paths, AppImages dropped into <code>/Applications</code>, <code>.sit</code> extraction straight into HFS volumes, and classic Mac software via Executor and Advanced Mac Substitute &mdash; no Apple ROM, no redistribution problem. With mockups and diagrams throughout.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="gnustep-executor-port-plan.html?v=20260727">A GNUstep Front End for Executor</a>
    <span class="desc">Porting plan from a code review of both Executor trees &mdash; ARDI's 1993 NeXTSTEP front end and autc04's modern C++17 fork. Four pure virtuals, ~1,000&ndash;2,000 lines of Objective-C++, and the traps that cost someone a day each in 1993: the update deadlock, the bitmap format flag, the XOR cursor. Why per-window <code>NSWindow</code>s are impossible and rootless works anyway.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="executor-gnustep-code-review.html?v=20260727">Executor, Read Twice &mdash; Code Review Findings</a>
    <span class="desc">The evidence behind the porting plan, with file and line citations throughout. The <code>VideoDriver</code> contract, the threading and deadlock rules, pixel formats, the libobjc2 toolchain traps, the GNUstep API gap tables, why the nibs can't be opened, and why <code>HFS_XFer</code>'s HFS engine is dead code. Includes what could not be verified.</span>
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>GNUstep &amp; Gershwin Guides</h2>
<ul class="guides">
  <li>
    <a href="SquashFS-Setup.html?v=20260514">SquashFS Setup Guide for Gershwin Workspace</a>
    <span class="desc">Building a SquashFS-based workspace on Debian/Linux.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="default-browser-setup.html?v=20260514">Setting Chromium as the Default Web Browser</a>
    <span class="desc">Configuring the default browser under GNUstep.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="mdns-local-fix.html?v=20260514">Fixing <code>.local</code> (mDNS) Resolution</a>
    <span class="desc">Getting mDNS name resolution working on Debian/Devuan.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="zsh-setup.html?v=20260514">Zsh System-Wide Setup</a>
    <span class="desc">Configuring zsh as a system-wide shell environment.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="devuan-alsa-only.html?v=20260514">ALSA + dmix + apulse Setup</a>
    <span class="desc">Sharing the sound card via ALSA dmix with apulse, no PulseAudio/PipeWire.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="nfs-locking-freeze-investigation.html?v=20260514">NFS Locking Freeze Investigation</a>
    <span class="desc">Why Chromium screen-share freezes the X session when <code>$HOME</code> is on NFS: the server doesn't register NLM, SQLite POSIX locks block in <code>fcntl()</code>, and the main thread stops servicing X events. Evidence, root cause, and fix.</span>
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>Research</h2>
<ul class="guides">
  <li>
    <a href="gnustep-research.html">GNUstep Research</a>
    <span class="desc">Menu rendering (macOS vs GNUstep), menu-bar ownership, the WindowServer.app display-server plan, and the Gershwin WindowManager QA plan.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="freebsd-research.html">FreeBSD Research</a>
    <span class="desc">Live ISO / livecd architecture, SquashFS on FreeBSD, gunion/unionfs reroot, and the native <code>Copier.framework</code> installer backend.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="launchd-research.html">Launchd Research</a>
    <span class="desc">Porting Apple&rsquo;s launchd to FreeBSD &mdash; the AF_UNIX sockets track and the Mach track (<code>mach.ko</code>, libdispatch, XPC, configd, IOKit, and the userland command ports).</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="nextbsd-research.html">NextBSD</a>
    <span class="desc">CI pipelines, native cross-build, the Gershwin live-ISO pipeline, kernel syscall-slot work, and the <code>.ko</code>&rarr;<code>.kext</code> conversion for the NextBSD base.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-research.html">Gershwin Research</a>
    <span class="desc">The Gershwin desktop &mdash; installer backends (Linux/FreeBSD/NextBSD), live-ISO architecture, and component/CI plans for <code>gershwin-desktop</code>.</span>
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>Volunteer Projects</h2>
<ul class="guides">
  <li>NextBSD 2026&ndash;present &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Anextbsd-redux+author%3Apkgdemon&type=commits&s=author-date&o=asc">Commits</a>,
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Anextbsd-redux+author%3Apkgdemon&type=pullrequests&s=updated&o=asc">Pull Requests</a>
    <span class="desc">Reviving NextBSD &mdash; macOS system technologies (launchd, Mach IPC, libdispatch) on a modern FreeBSD base, with a CI-built kernel, modules, and live ISO.</span>
  </li>
  <li>HexBSD 2025&ndash;present &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Ahexbsd+author%3Apkgdemon&type=commits&s=author-date&o=asc">Commits</a>
    <span class="desc">A native macOS application, written in Swift, for managing FreeBSD servers.</span>
  </li>
  <li>Gershwin 2025&ndash;present &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Agershwin-desktop+author%3Apkgdemon&type=commits&s=author-date&o=asc">Commits</a>,
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Agershwin-desktop+author%3Apkgdemon&type=pullrequests&s=updated&o=asc">Pull Requests</a>
    <span class="desc">A GNUstep-based desktop environment.</span>
  </li>
  <li>GNUstep 2024&ndash;present &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Agnustep+author%3Apkgdemon&type=commits&s=author-date&o=asc">Commits</a>,
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Agnustep+author%3Apkgdemon&type=pullrequests&s=updated&o=asc">Pull Requests</a>
    <span class="desc">Open-source implementation of the OpenStep / Cocoa frameworks &mdash; Foundation, AppKit, and the Objective-C runtime.</span>
  </li>
  <li>GhostBSD 2015&ndash;present &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Aghostbsd+author%3Apkgdemon&type=commits&s=author-date&o=asc">Commits</a>,
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Aghostbsd+author%3Apkgdemon&type=pullrequests&s=updated&o=asc">Pull Requests</a>
    <span class="desc">Desktop-focused FreeBSD distribution with a ready-to-use graphical environment.</span>
  </li>
  <li>FreeNAS/TrueNAS 2015&ndash;2022 &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Atruenas+author%3Apkgdemon&type=commits&s=author-date&o=asc&p=1">Commits</a>,
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Atruenas+author%3Apkgdemon&type=pullrequests&s=updated&o=asc">Pull Requests</a>
    <span class="desc">FreeBSD-based network-attached storage operating system, with ZFS at its core.</span>
  </li>
  <li>HelloSystem 2019&ndash;2020 &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3AhelloSystem+author%3Apkgdemon&type=commits&s=author-date&o=asc&p=1">Commits</a>
    <span class="desc">FreeBSD-based desktop system designed for simplicity and a Mac-like experience.</span>
  </li>
  <li>NextBSD 2015&ndash;2016 &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3ANextBSD+author%3Apkgdemon&type=pullrequests&s=updated&o=asc">Pull Requests</a>
    <span class="desc">Effort to bring macOS system technologies &mdash; launchd, Mach IPC, libdispatch &mdash; to a FreeBSD base.</span>
  </li>
  <li>PCBSD/TrueOS 2013&ndash;2018 &mdash;
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Atrueos+author%3Apkgdemon&type=commits&s=author-date&o=asc">Commits</a>,
    <a href="https://github.com/search?q=org%3Atrueos+author%3Apkgdemon&type=pullrequests&s=updated&o=asc&p=1">Pull Requests</a>
    <span class="desc">Desktop-oriented FreeBSD distribution (later TrueOS), focused on ease of installation and use.</span>
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>Sample Projects</h2>
<ul>
  <li><a href="https://github.com/pkgdemon/dockerstep">Dockerized GNUstep</a> (2024)</li>
  <li><a href="https://github.com/pkgdemon/swift-vm-cli">Swift CLI to boot ISOs with the Apple Hypervisor Framework</a> (2023)</li>
</ul>

<p>More examples, including forks I've contributed fixes to, can be found on
<a href="https://github.com/pkgdemon?tab=repositories">my GitHub</a>.</p>

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